I wonder if Ernest Starvo Blofeld could be re-interpreted for the modern Bond films just like The Joker was re-interpreted for The Dark Knight Trilogy and probably will be re-interpreted again for the DC Cinematic Universe.
Yes, of course he could with the right actor and treated seriously. It's Stavro, by the way.
Absolutely correct {[]
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
If Christoph Waltz played the part, he would be incredible, but only if the writing and production were far more risk-taking than they would be
Wow...what a fantastic idea. Waltz for Bloefeld would be perfect. Just perfect. That guy managed to be one of the most menacing villains in recent movie history by drinking a glass of milk, taking out a big pipe, and eating a strudel...Imagine if he had an organization like SPECTRE at his dispossal.
I suspect he will be more like Cristatos, or maybe Klaus Maria Brandauer's Largo, but imagine if they gave him lines closer to, say, Dr. No in elegance and villainy and let he and Craig spar.
In all seriousness, they could bring back SPECTRE and Blofeld but the writers would have to do great job of re-imagining and updating Blofeld and SPECTRE to modern standards of plausablity. Since the Austin Powers films which lampooned the classic Blofeld type villain to death, anything cliche would be seen as parody and just bring snickers from the audience....and not the good kind.
In all seriousness, they could bring back SPECTRE and Blofeld but the writers would have to do great job of re-imagining and updating Blofeld and SPECTRE to modern standards of plausablity. Since the Austin Powers films which lampooned the classic Blofeld type villain to death, anything cliche would be seen as parody and just bring snickers from the audience....and not the good kind.
I agree. They should re-imagine the SPECTRE concept, but if there is a team of people who can pull it off is this one. After CR I have total faith. I don't think for a minute that they will use any Austin Power cliches, that is so obviously a pitfall that it is unthinkable.
The concept is just as plausible now as it was then -- assuming the creative team behind it is good enough. The problem is a modern writer and director are so concerned about "realism," they lose sight of the fun. So do many audiences. And the truth is, very little in a Bond movie is truly realistic. If they take it seriously and plan correctly, it could be done again.
Essentially Quantum is the new SPECTRE as it were, so there's no need to go rehash earlier films (again). We know lots about SPECTRE but almost nothing about Quantum, its aims, hierarchy etc. - only what little we can glean from QOS in the Tosca scene.
So far me, Quantum is a much more interesting, mysterious organisation with untapped potential for the screenwriters. And I think DC needs to move in a new direction rather than retreading familiar ground (How he won his licence to kill, his Aston, etc) yet again.
I think Blofeld is too cliche' and rooted in the first half of the Cold War, I'd rather have Quantum return and be a relatively more grounded version of HYDRA, with corrupted elements of the corporate world, Western government, and Western intelligence agencies being its main members and enforcers.
'Alright guard, begin the unnecessarily slow moving dipping mechanism...'
As far as I'm concerned, it's not whether Blofeld could return.
As I'm sure like with any character he could be reinvented
For a modern audience, but should he ? I'm in two minds
Over it. He is a classic of the early Bonds but perhaps as
Stated he's to much of a cliché best left in the past. Then on
The other hand when you see what can be done, the Joker
For instance in the Batman films. Or the brilliant reworking
Of Sherlock Holmes in modern London. Even the change in
Bain.
If done right it would be brilliant. -{ guess like everyone else
I'll have to hold back my excitement until Bond24 is released.
To see in which direction they went ! )
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
I'm confident that both Blofeld and Spectre will return in the next film now Eon have the hard won rights back. As TP says, the trick is reinventing them for the 21st century. As per previous suggestions, I'd like to see Spectre emerge from Quantum. I'm hopeful it can be done right and Waltz is a definite step in that direction...
Japanese proverb say, "Bird never make nest in bare tree".
Ok...here we go. During the time between QOS and Skyfall....utlilizing the intelligence collected by 007 in QOS; MI6, the CIA, Mossad, KGB, etc were able to systematically destroy Quantum. However, the tricky Mr. White (seeing the writing on the wall at the opera in QOS) was able to vanish, never to be found.
However, Bond being Bond has continued to search for the vanished White. Bond gets a lead on White's wherabouts and tracks him down (I know, similar to DAF). When Bond gets to White, White informs Bond that he himself provided the clues and wanted Bond to find him. White then goes on to tell Bond, "I don't care if you kill me, I'm already dead" and then warns him of another organization that has risen out of the ashes of Quantum. An even more deadly and sinister organization, SPECTRE...led by the mysterious #1 aka Ernst Stavro Blofeld. White goes on to tell Bond that while Quantum wanted to control the world and reap the profits, SPECTRE wants to destroy it and is willing to commit any atrocity to do so and even he (White) has no stomach for that.
I know this is more dopey and cliched stuff but.... 8-) ...while I'm on a roll, lets make Blofeld the son of a Nazi war criminal who was either hanged at Nurenberg or better yet tracked down after the war in South America in a cooperative effort between MI6 and Mossad and later (pick whatever you like best) subsequently tried and hanged, commited suicide in jail awaiting trial, or shot on the spot.
Nice idea however Jesper Christensen will never return to a Bond movie, he has publicly slagged off the franchise as the worst thing he has done. I can't see this being pulled off with another actor playing Mr White. I like the idea of a "Dr No" worlds most dangerous leaders in organised crime sat at a table. The Chinese Tongs, The Russian Mafia, The US-Italian Don. The Jamaican Yardies all in cahoots taking orders from Number 1.
I'm confident that both Blofeld and Spectre will return in the next film now Eon have the hard won rights back.
I'm not so sure. They have won the rights back largely to prevent anyone else jumping in with another NSNA and undermining the franchise, rather than as a licence to use old characters.
Essentially Quantum is the new SPECTRE as it were, so there's no need to go rehash earlier films (again). We know lots about SPECTRE but almost nothing about Quantum, its aims, hierarchy etc. - only what little we can glean from QOS in the Tosca scene.
So far me, Quantum is a much more interesting, mysterious organisation with untapped potential for the screenwriters. And I think DC needs to move in a new direction rather than retreading familiar ground (How he won his licence to kill, his Aston, etc) yet again.
I totally agree...Why go backwards when we have an organization ready for development. I love the line "we have people everywhere".... it's ripe for moulding and shaping into something quite sinister. Just what DC's tenure needs, an enemy to really fear...
She's worth whatever chaos she brings to the table and you know it. ~ Mark Anthony
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
Essentially Quantum is the new SPECTRE as it were, so there's no need to go rehash earlier films (again). We know lots about SPECTRE but almost nothing about Quantum, its aims, hierarchy etc. - only what little we can glean from QOS in the Tosca scene.
So far me, Quantum is a much more interesting, mysterious organisation with untapped potential for the screenwriters. And I think DC needs to move in a new direction rather than retreading familiar ground (How he won his licence to kill, his Aston, etc) yet again.
If SPECTRE were to emerge from Quantum, I'd like to see both stay. Quantum can be the organization that funds the terrorist group SPECTRE. SPECTER can be a ISIS or Taliban type organization that Quantum funds. Blofeld can be the "Top Dog" of both organizations. The banker for the Quantum who tells SPECTRE where to attack then pays them when the task is complete.
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
Ok...here we go. During the time between QOS and Skyfall....utlilizing the intelligence collected by 007 in QOS; MI6, the CIA, Mossad, KGB, etc were able to systematically destroy Quantum. However, the tricky Mr. White (seeing the writing on the wall at the opera in QOS) was able to vanish, never to be found.
However, Bond being Bond has continued to search for the vanished White. Bond gets a lead on White's wherabouts and tracks him down (I know, similar to DAF). When Bond gets to White, White informs Bond that he himself provided the clues and wanted Bond to find him. White then goes on to tell Bond, "I don't care if you kill me, I'm already dead" and then warns him of another organization that has risen out of the ashes of Quantum. An even more deadly and sinister organization, SPECTRE...led by the mysterious #1 aka Ernst Stavro Blofeld. White goes on to tell Bond that while Quantum wanted to control the world and reap the profits, SPECTRE wants to destroy it and is willing to commit any atrocity to do so and even he (White) has no stomach for that.
Why not just make Mr. White Blofeld? Obviously, names like Green and White are just pseudonyms, and Mr. White has both the sense and look to be Blofeld. A clever trick would have been for him to simply break off from Quantum, taking with him those who are willing to join SPECTRE, and eliminating the rest. He could reveal himself later to be Ernst Stavro Blofeld. By comparison, SPECTRE would seem even more ruthless than Quantum could ever be.
Because literally none of the mainstream filmgoing audience - the ones that pushed SKYFALL into the billions - are excited for or interested in a return to Quantum or Mr White.
The appearance of a DB5 with machine guns in its headlights in SKYFALL should have tipped you guys off that Eon isn't super-obsessed with the minutiae of continuity )
People said similar things when Craig himself was cast as Bond -- he doesn't "look" like Bond, etc., and the audience will not be interested. But they got over it quick when Craig's performance and the direction of the films succeeded. Returning White or Blofeld to the mix has little to do with what the mass audience currently says or thinks and more to do how well it's pulled off in the actual film -- your general film-goer does not come to the theater with any expectations other than to be entertained, and then mostly by repetitive drivel. But once a film succeeds, many people go because it's "the thing to do." Fans, though, want more.
Your General Cinema-goer has most likely never heard of Blofeld.
Your general cinema-goer never heard of Vesper Lynd or the Aston Martin DB5 either, nor that Bond is half Scot and half Swiss and that he was orphaned. The issue isn't what the general cinema-goer knows going in; the issue is whether or not they enjoy what they see once they're there. In this, there is no preclusion to including Blofeld at all.
But Blofeld would mean something to the core audience for Bond films, and tentpole franchises are built first around the core audience and then usually broadened for a general audience that wants to see chases and explosions or whatever.
Given that Blofeld is such an accessible character -- he's been done many times before and well -- and that the current group is essentially recycling classic Bond elements anyway, from the car to the girl covered in oil to M's office, adding Blofeld in many ways makes more sense than creating some new villain with Blofeld-like properties and simply calling him something else. The beauty of Blofeld is that he could both please hardcore fans and also be something intriguing for "the great drooling masses" that don't know any better.
Your General Cinema-goer has most likely never heard of Blofeld.
Right, so you turn it into an event by casting Oscar-winning character actor Chritsoph Waltz and you seed the media with news of the exciting reimagining of Bond's most iconic villain.
Or I guess you follow your guys' plan and drum up interest by saying "Hey, remember those weaselly old white guys from Quantum of Solace! How exciting that loose thread was?? Rest easy, filmgoers! They're baaaaaaack!" ) 8-)
If eon don't want Blowie, perhaps he could go over to the BBC's
The Apprentice ! Looking for a new henchman, only instead of being
Fired. Their seat would violently electrocute them !
I'd watch it )
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Does anyone really think for a second that if they bring Bloefeld back he will wear a Nerhu jacket and stroke a white cat? They can create a new amazing villain, updating it. The actor is key of course, but if Christoph Waltz is eventually the new Bloefeld I have nothing but good feelings. He's the most chillingly menacing actor I've seen in modern movies.
Does anyone really think for a second that if they bring Bloefeld back he will wear a Nerhu jacket and stroke a white cat? They can create a new amazing villain, updating it. The actor is key of course, but if Christoph Waltz is eventually the new Bloefeld I have nothing but good feelings. He's the most chillingly menacing actor I've seen in modern movies.
The only thing missing from Waltz so far that is Blofeld-like is the voice. He isn't bald in the books, though I wouldn't have a problem with their making him that way, but in the films, at least in the beginning, he has a much more "doom-like" voice. Waltz speaks in a higher range, and his more frenetic demeanor reminds me a lot of Klaus Maria Brandauer. The thing is they can certainly bring the jacket and cat back -- the jacket was actually in style again about a decade ago -- and the cat is so iconic no other villain that I can think of has used one.
Essentially Quantum is the new SPECTRE as it were, so there's no need to go rehash earlier films (again). We know lots about SPECTRE but almost nothing about Quantum, its aims, hierarchy etc. - only what little we can glean from QOS in the Tosca scene.
So far me, Quantum is a much more interesting, mysterious organisation with untapped potential for the screenwriters. And I think DC needs to move in a new direction rather than retreading familiar ground (How he won his licence to kill, his Aston, etc) yet again.
Nice one, but story-structure wise Vito isn't the villain (yes, he would be a villain in real life but that's not relevant in this context).
The cat stroking is so cliched by now and it's been mocked so much, that I truly can't see a way to bring it back. Then again, I could be wrong and the writers might find a way. Also the actor is very important, and if Christoph Waltz is eventually the cat stroking villain I could see him making it work. In Inglorious Basterds he showed he is a master of working with props.
Essentially Quantum is the new SPECTRE as it were, so there's no need to go rehash earlier films (again). We know lots about SPECTRE but almost nothing about Quantum, its aims, hierarchy etc. - only what little we can glean from QOS in the Tosca scene.
So far me, Quantum is a much more interesting, mysterious organisation with untapped potential for the screenwriters. And I think DC needs to move in a new direction rather than retreading familiar ground (How he won his licence to kill, his Aston, etc) yet again.
^^^^^^
What he said. -{
What if Quantum is just a division of the Special Executive for Terrorism Revenge and Extortion?
Nowadays with all the conspiracy theories I could see SPECTRE as a sort of Illuminati organization, masterminding it all, behind government collapse,economic chaos, chemtrails...you name it.
Comments
Absolutely correct {[]
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Wow...what a fantastic idea. Waltz for Bloefeld would be perfect. Just perfect. That guy managed to be one of the most menacing villains in recent movie history by drinking a glass of milk, taking out a big pipe, and eating a strudel...Imagine if he had an organization like SPECTRE at his dispossal.
I agree. They should re-imagine the SPECTRE concept, but if there is a team of people who can pull it off is this one. After CR I have total faith. I don't think for a minute that they will use any Austin Power cliches, that is so obviously a pitfall that it is unthinkable.
So far me, Quantum is a much more interesting, mysterious organisation with untapped potential for the screenwriters. And I think DC needs to move in a new direction rather than retreading familiar ground (How he won his licence to kill, his Aston, etc) yet again.
As I'm sure like with any character he could be reinvented
For a modern audience, but should he ? I'm in two minds
Over it. He is a classic of the early Bonds but perhaps as
Stated he's to much of a cliché best left in the past. Then on
The other hand when you see what can be done, the Joker
For instance in the Batman films. Or the brilliant reworking
Of Sherlock Holmes in modern London. Even the change in
Bain.
If done right it would be brilliant. -{ guess like everyone else
I'll have to hold back my excitement until Bond24 is released.
To see in which direction they went !
Nice idea however Jesper Christensen will never return to a Bond movie, he has publicly slagged off the franchise as the worst thing he has done. I can't see this being pulled off with another actor playing Mr White. I like the idea of a "Dr No" worlds most dangerous leaders in organised crime sat at a table. The Chinese Tongs, The Russian Mafia, The US-Italian Don. The Jamaican Yardies all in cahoots taking orders from Number 1.
I'm not so sure. They have won the rights back largely to prevent anyone else jumping in with another NSNA and undermining the franchise, rather than as a licence to use old characters.
I totally agree...Why go backwards when we have an organization ready for development. I love the line "we have people everywhere".... it's ripe for moulding and shaping into something quite sinister. Just what DC's tenure needs, an enemy to really fear...
If SPECTRE were to emerge from Quantum, I'd like to see both stay. Quantum can be the organization that funds the terrorist group SPECTRE. SPECTER can be a ISIS or Taliban type organization that Quantum funds. Blofeld can be the "Top Dog" of both organizations. The banker for the Quantum who tells SPECTRE where to attack then pays them when the task is complete.
Why not just make Mr. White Blofeld? Obviously, names like Green and White are just pseudonyms, and Mr. White has both the sense and look to be Blofeld. A clever trick would have been for him to simply break off from Quantum, taking with him those who are willing to join SPECTRE, and eliminating the rest. He could reveal himself later to be Ernst Stavro Blofeld. By comparison, SPECTRE would seem even more ruthless than Quantum could ever be.
The appearance of a DB5 with machine guns in its headlights in SKYFALL should have tipped you guys off that Eon isn't super-obsessed with the minutiae of continuity
But Blofeld would mean something to the core audience for Bond films, and tentpole franchises are built first around the core audience and then usually broadened for a general audience that wants to see chases and explosions or whatever.
Given that Blofeld is such an accessible character -- he's been done many times before and well -- and that the current group is essentially recycling classic Bond elements anyway, from the car to the girl covered in oil to M's office, adding Blofeld in many ways makes more sense than creating some new villain with Blofeld-like properties and simply calling him something else. The beauty of Blofeld is that he could both please hardcore fans and also be something intriguing for "the great drooling masses" that don't know any better.
Right, so you turn it into an event by casting Oscar-winning character actor Chritsoph Waltz and you seed the media with news of the exciting reimagining of Bond's most iconic villain.
Or I guess you follow your guys' plan and drum up interest by saying "Hey, remember those weaselly old white guys from Quantum of Solace! How exciting that loose thread was?? Rest easy, filmgoers! They're baaaaaaack!"
The Apprentice ! Looking for a new henchman, only instead of being
Fired. Their seat would violently electrocute them !
I'd watch it
Try Vito Corleone, off the top of my head...
^^^^^^
What he said. -{
The cat stroking is so cliched by now and it's been mocked so much, that I truly can't see a way to bring it back. Then again, I could be wrong and the writers might find a way. Also the actor is very important, and if Christoph Waltz is eventually the cat stroking villain I could see him making it work. In Inglorious Basterds he showed he is a master of working with props.
What if Quantum is just a division of the Special Executive for Terrorism Revenge and Extortion?
Nowadays with all the conspiracy theories I could see SPECTRE as a sort of Illuminati organization, masterminding it all, behind government collapse,economic chaos, chemtrails...you name it.